When We Collide
by Sarquestrian
Summary: "Secret Santa" gift for a friend. On the morning of his wedding anniversary, Nikola can't help but remember the major steps that brought him here, with the love of his life in his arms and a ring on his finger.


**Title: **"When We Collide"

**Genre: **Romance

**Length: **1117 words

**Rating: **PG-13 for implied sex and a few mentions of Niko's "issues"

**Characters: **Nikola Tesla, Emily Prentiss

**Prompt: **"Collide" by Howie Day

* * *

On the morning of their third anniversary, Nikola Tesla woke up early, which wasn't an entirely out-of-the-ordinary occurrence for him. Hell, on each of their past anniversaries, he'd been out of bed before the sun rose in order to prepare some sort of elaborate breakfast for her to wake up to. This year, however, he'd promised her ahead of time that he'd be there when she woke up- there, in bed, and not sitting beside her with a meal fit for a king- and he fully intended to keep that promise, if only because she had so desperately wanted him to. It wasn't like it was a tough promise to keep, either. He had yet to find anything in the world that gave him more pleasure than holding her, naked and vulnerable and oh so beautiful, in his arms... and he knew she felt the same way.

_It was exactly twelve minutes past noon on Thursday, November 8th. He remembered it like it was yesterday. She'd been wearing jeans and a white blouse that revealed just enough cleavage to catch his interest- which, in itself, was saying something. He was Nikola fucking Tesla, for crying out loud. He could have any woman he wanted, and he knew it. Of course, up until then, he hadn't cared._

The memory of the day they met was burned into his mind in the most amazing way possible, and as his lover slept peacefully in his arms, he couldn't help but to recall that day that had changed his life forever. He hadn't realized it at the time, of course, but he _had _known that there was something different- something there that he'd never, ever experienced before, and he just had to know what it was. Even now, years later, he couldn't quite put a name to it, but that didn't matter. Not now.

_He'd lost interest in whatever it was he had been doing the second she stepped into that coffee shop, to the point where he ended up staring until long after the door had swung shut behind her. He couldn't help but wonder why no one else was staring along with him. Didn't they notice her? Couldn't they see just how perfect and amazing and _beautiful _she was? Those were the thoughts that flew through his mind, barely noticed by him, in the ten or fifteen second span before she realized that he was staring... and gave him a look that sent a wave of embarrassment splashing down upon him, turning him bright scarlet as he realized his mistake. Unfortunately, it also sent a surge of blood someplace much lower._

He almost chuckled as he recalled that day, which had resulted in so many "firsts" for the two of them, and in particular, him. His first real crush, first date, first love... and, ahem, first uncontrollable hard-on to accompany all three of those events. She hadn't seemed to notice, thank god- or at least, if she had, she hadn't pointed it out- and to this day, he still hadn't admitted that her entrance alone in that coffee shop had forced him to take a cold shower that afternoon. It almost made him chuckle, seeing just how far they'd come since then. Neither of them were clothed right now, and she was nestled securely against his chest for warmth, though he'd pulled the blankets over both of them after their fooling around the night before. He'd hate for her to wake up freezing cold, and especially not on the morning of their anniversary.

_He didn't know how things had gone uphill from there, but they had. He'd somehow managed to beckon her over after she'd ordered her coffee- well, coffees, though he assumed they were for coworkers or friends as well as herself- and, after a lot of fumbling for words and uncontrollable blushing, asked her out on a date. It was only then that he'd thought to check for a ring, though a split second-long glance at her left hand revealed that she wasn't married. That was a start- but if it turned out she had a boyfriend already, he knew he would have to storm out of there before he could lose what was left of his dignity, or worse, his control. He wouldn't harm her, or anyone else, for that matter, but that didn't mean he wanted to hear her reject him. It was a vampire thing, from what little he knew of his race. They mated for life- and because of that, they had a sense of protectiveness over the ones they loved that could be considered irrational._

She mumbled something in her sleep, but he couldn't make out anything even vaguely coherent and instead settled for just pulling her closer and burying his face in her hair. She smelled distinctly like strawberries, a fact he'd pointed out on numerous occasions that she didn't seem quite able to comprehend. She didn't use strawberry body wash or deodorant or even _eat _that many strawberries, after all, though as far as he was concerned, it was perfect that way. It was a subtle scent; not poisoned by chemicals or mingled with the scent of other lotions and perfumes. Though, now that he thought about it, he suspected she'd started using a strawberry-scented lip gloss at some point in time...

_The date had gone wonderfully. They'd eaten dinner, had a bit to drink, and then she'd agreed to accompany him for a walk under the stars. That night alone almost, _almost _made him believe in some sort of higher power. The sky was cloudless, the stars were shining, and he had the woman of his dreams to share it with. Call it fate, luck, or whatever else you will; he was just happy to be experiencing it. One year after that night, he'd taken her to the exact same spot and dropped to one knee under the exact same stars. Much to his excitement, she'd said yes without a moment's hesitation._

He didn't know what he'd done to deserve her, let alone to make it this far into such an amazing, wonderful relationship. He may not be making her breakfast in bed today, but he would definitely make this yet another day that the both of them would remember for the rest of their lives. He may not be able to ask her out on a date for the first time again, or to marry him, but he could introduce new memories- ones almost, _almost _as amazing as the ones they'd already made together. And who knew?

Maybe they'd finally have that baby they'd been talking about for years now.

And maybe, just maybe, this would last forever.


End file.
